Calling for the Rescue of My Father, He Sanpu, Held at a Brainwashing Centre in Henan Province

Brief introduction to the family

My name is He Yanchen. I am an international refugee relocated by the United Nations Refugee Agency. I will never forget May 11th, 2006, the day when I stepped on the soil of a beautiful and free country—New Zealand. First, I want to thank the United Nations Refugee Agency and the New Zealand government for their help.

I am fortunate because I have finally obtained freedom, while countless Falun Gong practitioners in China are still incarcerated, tortured and even having their organs harvested while still alive, and their bodies are cremated by the Communist regime to destroy the evidence.

My whole family practises Falun Gong. My mother is Zhang Hanwen, a nurse at the Zhenzhou University Hospital. My father He Sanpu used to be a division official at the Henan Province Propaganda Bureau. He had worked diligently for more than two decades at the provincial government. My grandfather used to work at the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Disciplinary Inspection Committee and was in charge of setting up the Henan Province Disciplinary Inspection Committee. After the CCP started persecuting Falun Gong on July 20th, 1999, my father persisted in his belief in Truth-Compassion-Forbearance. Because of that, Fan Qinchen, deputy CCP Henan Province Committee Secretary, personally arranged for my grandfather to be transferred from his post at Henan Province Propaganda Bureau into the Henan Province Daily News agency. Eventually the Communist regime threw him in prison. The Communist regime put me in prison three times for practising Falun Gong. I escaped from China after living in exile for nearly three years before asking for protection from the United Nations Refugee Agency.

My father He Sanpu disappeared

My father He Sanpu went to work on July 14th, 2000 but he did not return home. That was the last time I saw him at home. After his disappearance, officers Li Xinjian, Tao Wenyao and Li from the Jinshui District Police Department in Zhenzhou City ransacked my home. They refused to tell me my father's whereabouts, or whether or not he was dead or alive. My mother and I knew nothing of his situation.

We went to all the custody centres, prisons and other places where most Falun Gong practitioners are held. We saw my father’s name at the No. 1 Detention Centre of Zhenzhou City, but we were never allowed to meet with him. He was transferred after 48 days, and we again lost track of him.

My father sentenced to two years of forced labour

We asked many people before finding out that my father had been sentenced to two years of forced labour. He was held at the Baimiao Labour Camp in Zhenzhou City for one week. My mother and I immediately went to the labour camp with some clothes for him.

I then saw him for the first time since his disappearance. The detainees were doing heavy manual labour and turning over sand for casting iron. Then a man walked up to me. I looked at him carefully and finally recognised my father. He used to be strong and healthy, but at that point he was skin and bones. His hands were deeply bruised by the coarse sand. I lost control and cried loudly. My father tried to comfort me by saying, "Don’t worry! Everything is gong to be fine. Listen to your mum at home and be strong."

We couldn’t talk too much because of the guards' presence, but we understood each other, and I knew my father’s determination. He hoped I would stay firm with my belief and never compromise under any dictatorial power or temptation for personal interest. Because my mother and I practised Falun Gong, the guards unreasonably denied any further visits with my father. I often stood outside the labour camp's high wall and hoped a miracle would happen, and I would be able to see my father.

I hadn’t seen my father for more than two years, but often saw him in my dreams. When I woke up, however, the cold reality hit, and tears soaked my pillow. I can never forget those days when my mother and I were able to get on with our lives only by encouraging and comforting each other and constantly practising Falun Dafa.

My mother and I again went to Beijing to appeal on December 29th, 2000, and to demand the release of my father. We were held at the Chaoyang District Detention Centre in Beijing for nearly one month. The police took my mother back to Zhenzhou City and sent her to a brainwashing centre. She was sentenced to two years of forced labour for refusing to write articles to slander Falun Gong. She was sent to the Shibalihe Women’s Forced Labour Camp in Henan Province. Her sentence was extended by three months because she refused to give up her belief.

Five months after agents from the Communist Party took my father away, they took my mother away, too, the only family I had left. On their way to take me to Zhenzhou City, the police car got in an accident and I suffered a head injury. A relative took me to nurse my wounds, but the police waited outside my relative’s home around the clock.

I left my relative’s home when I heard that the police were going to arrest me and send me to prison. That was the beginning of five years living in exile. I could no longer receive care from my parents and I could not return home. The police issued a public arrest notice for me, so I could not meet with my relatives or friends. It was dangerous for me to rent a place. I lived under tremendous psychological and financial pressure and didn’t feel safe for one second while I was in China.

My father was savagely tortured at the labour camp. Because he exposed the Communist regime’s lies and slanders about Falun Gong there, eight guards kicked him to the ground, pushed him down with their boots and tied up his hands and feet. They shocked the sensitive parts of his body with seven or eight high-voltage electric batons at the same time, which scorched his face and neck, creating the odour of charred flesh.

I went to my grandmother’s home to eat a meal on July 6th, 2001 while still living in exile. The police followed me and surrounded my grandmother’s home. I jumped from the second floor window to escape the persecution and fractured both feet. My uncle told my father about my experience when he visited my father at the labour camp. My father went on a hunger strike to protest the Communist regime’s persecution of the entire family. The guards again shocked him with electric batons and savagely beat him and extended his sentence by three months.

Officials from the Henan Province Daily News agency came to the labour camp and announced that my father had been expelled from the CCP and removed from all of his positions. Through this persecution my father and my family saw the true nature of the Communist Party.

My father was sent to a brainwashing centre after his term in labour camp

My father didn’t obtain freedom, even after two years and three months of detention at the labour camp. 610 Office¹ agents and officials from the Henan Province Daily News agency took my father directly from the labour camp and sent him to a brainwashing centre at the Wanqing Mountain Resort in the western suburban area of Zhenzhou City. They held him there for five months. I publicised this information on the Internet. People overseas made numerous phone calls to the Henan Province Daily News agency and demanded the release of my father He Sanpu. He was released unconditionally on December 31st, 2002.

The persecution did not end there. My father was arrested from work four times and he was held in a brainwashing and custody centre, where he was pressured to give up his belief. He was completely deprived of his personal safety and freedom. He didn’t know when he would again face detention and torture. He wrote a resignation letter to avoid further harassment at work and went into exile.

The Henan Province Daily News agency and the "610 Office" issued a national arrest warrant for my father. They also published an article in the Henan Province Daily News saying they were after him. Both my parents were arrested in the street on July 11th, 2005 by tailing police agents. My father was sent back to the Wanqing Mountain Resort, where he has been held for one year.

My father didn’t violate any law. Only wanting to live by Truth-Compassion-Forbearance, he has to pay such a price. Of the past seven years of persecution, my father spent four years in prisons and brainwashing centres and lived in exile for 18 months.

I really miss my parents. Our family, once happy before the persecution, has not lived together for six years. I hope all justice-loving people can help us get together soon. I request the New Zealand Ambassador in Beijing to visit my father at the Wanqing Mountain Resort and urge the New Zealand government to rescue my father and help him come to New Zealand.

Phone numbers of lawless officials responsible for the persecution:

Zhao Tiejun: deputy head of Henan Province Daily News agency, 86-371-65795868 (Office), 86-371-65952956 (home)
Zhang: head of Henan Province Daily News agency, 86-371-65795879 (office)
Henan Province Daily News agency CCP Committee: 86-371-65795820
Office: 86-371-65795811
The following is a list of superior work units directly above the Henan Province Daily News Agency:
Ma Zhengyao: deputy head of Henan Province CCP Propaganda Bureau, 86-371-65902380 (office)
Front office at Henan Province CCP Propaganda Bureau: 86-371-65902309
CCP Committee of the Henan Province Propaganda Bureau: 86-371-65902743

Note

1. "The 610 office" is an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2006/7/25/133945.html